Washington, DC - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15), Chairman Emeritus of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, made the following statement on President Barack Obama's announcement during today's national radio address of Dr. Margaret Hamburg for head of the Food and Drug Administration and the President's comments regarding our nation's ability to monitor food safety.

"I commend President Obama on his move to make Dr. Margaret Hamburg head of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Hamburg brings great experience to an agency that is in desperate need of new leadership. Her work as Commissioner of Health for the City of New York and as an Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation for the Department of Health and Human Services makes her extremely qualified to take on this new role.

"I have been a long-time advocate for strengthening the FDA. In its current state, the agency is woefully underfunded and its authorities are outdated. I have authored a piece of legislation - H.R. 759 - that would create a steady stream of resources for the FDA and give it greater authority to protect our food supplies. As Congress takes action on this legislation, I look forward to working with Dr. Hamburg to create a strengthened FDA that is best able to protect American citizens.

"I want to commend the President for speaking to the nation about the crisis we face in food safety. In the past two years, we have been confronted with melamine in infant formula, tainted peppers from Mexico, harmful seafood from China, and E. coli in spinach.  If that was not enough, we currently find ourselves in the midst of one of the largest recalls in the nation's history--salmonella tainted peanuts have been linked to nine deaths and have sickened more than 680 people. The fact is as long as the system remains the way the Bush Administration left it, that one bad apple, or peanut or bag of lettuce will be too close for anyone's comfort. I know President Obama well enough to know that he doesn't specialize in scare tactics, but quite frankly, Americans are frightened by the past failures of the FDA. We should be alarmed and ready for action. The President is showing real leadership in bringing attention to the safety of our food supply and giving Dr. Hamburg a mandate for change."

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